Last year, while experts nationwide continued to scramble to fix
outdated computer systems that can't recognize dates after
December 31, 1999, minority business advocate Mannie Lopes decided
that he, too, wanted in on the action.

So he created Year 2000 Alliance LLC in Laurel, Maryland. The
company now plays a critical role in the Y2K conversion
operation--and it promotes women- and minority-owned high-tech and
telecommunications businesses in the process.

The alliance helps its members land private-sector and
government contracts. With help from firms like Kym Kennedy's
The Computer Training Company in Richmond, Virginia, alliance
members learn to solve Y2K problems for other companies. To date,
the Alliance's women-owned ventures have already garnered
contracts totaling $24 million. Lopes expects women- and
minority-owned businesses' contract work to reach $350 million
by December 31, 2001.

Lopes' efforts date back to the 1996 White House Conference
on Small Business, where he was a delegate and the national
coordinator for minority firms. "We bonded at the conference,
and I told [the minority- and women-owned firms] I was going to
keep that alliance together forever," he remembers.

Today, close to 200 firms are Alliance members. "The
crÃ¨me-de-la-crÃ¨me of women- and minority-owned tech firms
are in this Alliance, and the ones I don't have are joining as
we speak," Lopes says.

For now, projections say the Y2K problem will be resolved by
2002, but Lopes believes 2005 is a more realistic date. The
alliance should stay strong beyond that time, though, as Lopes
plans to focus on other opportunities in the high-tech field. To
find out whether or not you qualify to become a Year 2000 Alliance
member, call (301) 622-5460.

Maiden Voyage

Remembering Madame C.J. Walker

Ninety-two years ago, Sarah Breedlove--better known as Madame
C.J. Walker--put her first hair-care products on the market. Soon
her initial investment of $1.50 multiplied into a fortune: She died
a millionaire in 1919 at the age of 51. Today, the Guinness Book
of World Records salutes her as the "first American woman
to become a millionaire solely by her own endeavors."

Born on a cotton plantation in Louisiana to former slaves,
Walker was orphaned at age 7, married at 14, and widowed at 20. At
35, her hair started falling out. After saying a prayer to save her
hair, she claims she dreamed of the formula behind The Walker
System--a line of hair-care products and treatments--which later
made her famous.

Madame C.J. Walker Enterprises Inc. is alive and well in
Indianapolis, and the company still makes its six original
products. Walker's descendants no longer run the company, but
her will decreed that the business must always be run by a woman.
Says Madame C.J. Walker Enterprises' Joyce Randolph, "We
are carrying on her legacy."

What's Your Priority?

A recent survey of women business owners worldwide revealed
their top concerns: